Tom Pullen

An Ottawa native, Tom Pullen played his college football at Michigan and then started his professional career with his home town Rough Riders in 1968. Pullen was just in time for the era in the 1970s when teams discovered that tight ends could be a major offensive weapon and not just a blocker. Pullen joined players like Tony Gabriel, Peter Dalla Riva and Mel Profit in pulling in passes from East Quarterbacks. Like most rookies, Pullen didn't see the ball a lot and had just 6 catches, then upped that to 17 in 1969. From a team perspective, it had to have been a great time for a young player as the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup in both of Pullen's first two seasons. Pullen moved to Montreal in 1970 and had only 9 catches that season as Dalla Riva got most of the action. In 1971, still with Montreal, things reversed with Pullen getting the majority of the action at tight end and he had his best season with 34 catches for 487 yards. Pullen returned to Ottawa in 1972 and played three more years for the Rough Riders, with his best season coming in 1974 with 32 catches for 386 yards. Pullen finished his career in 1975 with the Toronto Argonauts.